RMIT Classification: Trusted Aviation transport infrastructure Discussion Paper March 2021 RMIT Classification: Trusted Aviation transport infrastructure Engineers Australia 11 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600 Tel: 02 6270 6555 Email: [email protected] www.engineersaustralia.org.au Table of Contents 1. Purpose ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 2. Background and context ...................................................................................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Stakeholders and Responsibilities ................................................................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Government Regulations and Policies............................................................................................................................................ 6 2.3 Engineering and Planning .................................................................................................................................................................... 6 2.4 The Future ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 7 3. Issues, Challenges and Opportunities ............................................................................................................................................ 8 3.1 Safeguarding Safety, Urban Planning and Land Use ................................................................................................................. 8 3.2 Asset and Infrastructure Management .......................................................................................................................................... 8 3.3 Regional Airports .................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 3.4 Development and Technology ........................................................................................................................................................... 9 3.5 Environment and Sustainability ..................................................................................................................................................... 10 3.6 Safety 10 3.7 User Experience and Security ......................................................................................................................................................... 11 3.8 Air Cargo ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 11 3.9 Workforce Development and Inclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 12 4. Recommendations ............................................................................................................................................................................... 14 1. Purpose This document has been produced by the Transport Australia society (TAs) of Engineers Australia with an aim to improve aviation in Australia. It does not represent a formal position statement of Engineers Australia but is intended to inform discussions contributing to Australia’s aviation economy, which is essential for communities, industries, businesses, and tourism. The focus of the paper is on the airport, from the air to the land side, including transport infrastructure planning and engineering, today and in the future. 2. Background and context Aviation is critical to Australia’s prosperity due to our relative geographic isolation requiring long distance coverage both nationally and internationally. Aviation is essential to passenger travel and freight, and connects and providing services for Australian communities. It is essential for the international tourism, business, and education markets, enabling overseas travel for Australians and international visitors. The resources sector and other critical industries, such as trade-exposed high value, security sensitive and time critical freight, also see air transport as essential to their business. Australia’s aviation industry contributes $18.42 billion to the Australian economy in 2018 with an estimated annual revenue being $45.98 billion. The industry employs more than 93,000 people1, despite being under intense pressure from many economic, social, technological and environmental factors. The Australian aviation industry served over 3.5 billion passengers and carried more than 50 million tons of cargo prior to COVID-19 in 2017, as shown in Figure 1. The impact of COVID-19 has been severe on the whole of the aviation industry, with demand dropping dramatically to unsustainable level. 2 Many airlines have been forced to consider structural and business model transformation to encourage long-term profitability and limit associated risks. The repercussions of COVID-19 and associated restrictions have been industry wide, including airports and associated aviation service providers. Airport investment and profitability models have been severely disrupted, particularly since businesses have been relying on long term, continual growth in demand. Market confidence in aviation investment and risk appetite will be diminished as a consequence. Therefore, it is expected that different business approaches must emerge. Figure 1: Passenger and international freight movements by aircraft in Australia 3 2.1 Stakeholders and Responsibilities The nature of the airport sector requires synergistic stakeholder collaboration, as illustrated in Figure 2 below. key stakeholders include airport owners, airlines, air traffic management, regulators, services providers and other participants4. However, the operations of service industries, engineering, avionics, security, border control, tourism operators, aeromedical services and training providers must be integrated to enable maximum efficiency and 11 Australian Industry and Skills Committee, Introduction to Aviation. https://nationalindustryinsights.aisc.net.au/industries/transport/aviation 2 Pearce (2020). COVID-19 Outlook for the airline industry 2020-2021. IATA https://www.iata.org/en/iata- repository/publications/economic-reports/airline-industry-economic-performance-june-2020-presentation/ 3 Productivity Commission (2019). Economic Regulation of Airports. Overview & Recommendations. Canberra: Australian Government. 4 CASA (2016). Sector Risk Profile for the aerodrome sector. Canberra: Australian Government. resilience. While there are certainly significant participants in the industry with essential market power, collective and holistic industry effort will be required to maximise productivity. Governments, private businesses, and other interested parties cannot solve these challenges in isolation. Most of Australia’s major airports are owned by the Commonwealth and are operated on long-term lease by private operators under regulated oversight5. Most regional airports are owned and operated by Local Governments, after being divested by the Commonwealth from the 1950s through to the 1990s6. Some larger airports are privately owned, and a few are leased from Local Governments recently. Figure 3 provides an overview of the size and distributions of the airports across the country. Figure 2: Main stakeholders in the airport sector7 5 Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (DITRDC), Airports: https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/aviation/airport/index.aspx 6 House of Representatives Standing Committee on Transport & Regional Services (2004), Final Report of the Regional Aviation and Island Transport Services Inquiry, p. 74. 7 Adapted from CASA (2016). Sector Risk Profile for the aerodrome sector. Canberra: Australian Government. Figure 3: Australia’s top 40 airports in 2018–19 by passenger throughput8 2.2 Government Regulations and Policies The Commonwealth Government exerts the greatest influence on aviation policy in Australia. The Commonwealth controls market entry by international carriers, airspace, security, navigation, safety, and provides subsidies to regional and smaller airports, and some level of investment in other selected airports. The States, on the other hand, play a minor role in subsidies, investment in airport access and land use planning. Local Governments are almost wholly responsible for local airport funding and managing land use planning around airports. During COVID-19 all sectors in aviation industry modified their financial activities including reducing fees and providing subsidies. The Australian air transport sector operates within a complex regulatory environment that reflect the evolving nature of the sector and the roles of governments over time. The main aviation regulator is the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (DITRDC), which advises the Government on the policy and regulatory frameworks for Australian airports and the aviation industry. DITRDC manages the administration of the Government's interests in the 22 Federally leased airports, including land use planning and